Aquaponic Gardening

A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Richard Kowalski
  • Male
  • Wantagh, NY
  • United States
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  • Don Cole

Richard Kowalski's Discussions

Make your own Auto dosing solution potasium carbonate

Started May 21, 2018 0 Replies

Has anyone made their own ph up solution to be used with and auto dosing system?Specifically potasium carbonate?Thanks,Rich KContinue

How to handle Potasium/ Calcium supplimentation when Ph never goes below 7.4

Started this discussion. Last reply by Kurt Fischer Feb 4, 2019. 28 Replies

Hello Everyone,This is my 7th year running my Aquaponics system. This is the first time I have run into a problem where the Ph has been hovering between 7.3 - 7.6 for the past 4 weeks. I built a…Continue

Tags: falling, not, Ph

Hanna HI98128 Combo Tester

Started Jun 12, 2016 0 Replies

Hello People,I would just like to pass on an experience I had with my Hanna Ph/Temp tester. I have had it for a little over a year. I store it in storage solution after each use.  The readings…Continue

Tags: Tester, Temperature, Ph, Hanna

Black spots on leaves

Started this discussion. Last reply by George T Jun 18, 2015. 8 Replies

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Tags: Spot, Black

 

Richard Kowalski's Page

Profile Information

How did you find us?
Search engine (Google)
If you found us through a search engine, what search words were you using?
Aquaponics
Are you an aquaponic gardener already?
Yes
If so, what type of system? (pick all that apply)
flood and drain media
How old is your system?
6 mos - 1 yr
What type of fish do you grow with? (select all that apply)
Goldfish, Tilapia
How big is your fish tank?
300 Gallon
Name a part of a fish (spam blocking question)
Gil
Please tell us something else about yourself.
I have kept a conventional garden for many years. I wanted to try something that would produce more with less work. After my first season of growing in aquaponics, I must say I am a believer! A 3x6 and a 3x4 grow bed produced more vegetables and less work than I was able to grow in my conventional garden over the last 5 years combined! The plants in aquaponics are 3 times the size and produce much more!

Richard Kowalski's Blog

Time to Start Outdoor System March/April 2015

Posted on April 2, 2015 at 7:34pm 0 Comments

Its the end of March, the weather is starting to warm up (40F instead of 20F) and its time to get the greenhouse back up and running.

This year I am going to add DWC bins to the system to grow my green leafy vegetables. In order to do this I have to cover the sump tank with a floor and build a table on it where the DWC will sit. There are 3 bins with 8 cut outs each to support 3" net pots. I am starting everything from seed. I am using rock wool as the medium to grow the plants in.…

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February Update of Indoor System

Posted on February 23, 2015 at 8:36pm 0 Comments

So here it is, the end of February. I still have the same issues with my plants. The main reason why I built this indoor system was so my Tilapia would not freeze to death in my unheated greenhouse. My limited amount of space in my basement forced me to…

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January 2015 Indoor Aquaponics System

Posted on January 18, 2015 at 1:01pm 1 Comment

My growing season ended in October when we had a cold snap and my plants were wiped out. My tilapia were not at a harvestable size yet and the water temperature dropped to 58F. 

I built a indoor Aquaponics System based around a 100 Gallon Cattle Trough. I had very little space in my basement, so the entire system needed to fit on top of the fish tank.

I had a 30…

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Trials and Tribulations of getting a Flood and Drain System Up and Running

Posted on April 13, 2014 at 12:45pm 4 Comments

Well, It took me a while to get the greenhouse built and the grow beds built. In the beginning of April, I finally finished the plumbing of my system.

It consists of a 300 Gallon fish tank, a 150 Gallon sump tank, a 3X6 and a 3X4 grow bed, a Bio Filter and a Radial Flow filter. I am using Hydroton in my grow beds. I used 1 inch PVC pipe for the plumbing…

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At 7:57am on February 10, 2016, Don Cole said…

Oh sorry, the fish tanks are a total of 900 gallons.

At 7:55am on February 10, 2016, Don Cole said…

Richard,

Here is a write up on how it works. I hope it helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Parts list:

Ecotemp L5 instant hot water kit: It comes with a 12vdc pump, heater unit and, strainer

55 gallon barrel

12vdc power supply

Dwyer TSW 160 or TSW 250 temperature controller.

100’ roll of 1/5” PEX tubing

6’ of dishwasher drain hose

Two ½” valves to isolate the PEX heat exchanger

Misc. hose fittings

The Ecotemp L5 is a 5 liter per minute water heater that uses propane from a standard BBQ grill tank. It starts heating when water flow is detected. I used the Dwyer temp controller to start and start the pump at the desired temp. The PEX tubing is a thin wall tubing that is rated for residential hot water distribution. It doesn’t have the same heat transfer as a stainless steel coil but is way cheaper and easier to get. I used the barrel as a reservoir for the heater and circulated the water through the heater, PEX and, back to the barrel. I think this helped with the heating because as the water in the barrel warmed up the heater output temp increased. This in turn allowed more heat to be transferred to the fish tank through the PEX.

The system works perfectly and was able to raise the temp of the three fish tanks from 57 degrees to 70 degrees in about 5 hours. It has easily maintained 73 degrees in the fish tanks when the greenhouse temp was in the high 30’s. I built mine on a two wheeled dolly so when not in use I could store it out of the way. It uses a standard 5 gallon propane tank per day when the temp is in the 30’s. My fish tanks are not insulated and the greenhouse is not heated yet. I think if they were I could probably get two days per tank. I also have the temp set a little high and could probably gain a half a day by lowering it to 65 degrees.

This whole system cost about $300.00. The only thing I didn’t have to buy was the barrel.

Don

 
 
 

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